How to be generous

How to be generous

…on the web

How to be generous

• Why be generous?• Bad and good things to give away• Pointers for socially-beneficial

websites

Why be generous?

GNU GPL

Code sold

Closed source

Code given away

Closed source

Code given away

Open source

1995 2000 2005

EMI confirms thousands of job losses

Rockonomics

• Between 1996 and 2003, ticket prices rose by 8.9% (inflation was 2.3%)

• For top 35 artists: income from touring is 7.5 times income from record sales (2002)

“Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity. You'd better be prepared for doing a lot of touring, because that's really the only unique situation that's going to be left.”

Why be generous?

• The rewards accumulate to the popular.

• The more you give away the greater the chance you’ve got of becoming popular.

Why be generous?

• The rewards accumulate to the popular.

• The more you give away the greater the chance you’ve got of becoming popular.

• The creative challenge is to find interesting stuff to give away.

Bad and good things to give away

Good and bad things to give away

“What are the enduring unmet human goals? To connect with other people and to learn.”

Philip Greenspun

http://philip.greenspun.com/seia/introduction

Pointers for socially-beneficial

web projects

Paul Graham, Y Combinator

“Make something people want. Don't worry too much about making money. What you've got is a description of a charity.”

http://www.paulgraham.com/good.html

Pointers

1. Be funny (tap into the zeitgeist)

“Hancock, Steptoe, Mainwaring, Alf Garnett, Basil Fawlty, Baldrick, Victor Meldrew, Alan Partridge, Ali G, David Brent… penetrated the consciousness of the nation and so closely defined the aspirations and failures of successive generations. A public service broadcasting without comedy is in danger of being regarded as no more than a dumping ground for worthiness.”

http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=44

Pointers

1. Be funny 2. Harness the power of mass-

participation

Pointers

1. Be funny2. Harness the power of mass-

participation3. Don’t expect to change the world

Pointers

1. Be funny2. Harness the power of mass-

participation3. Don’t expect to change the world4. Give users a clear goal

Pointers

1. Be funny2. Harness the power of mass-

participation3. Don’t expect to change the world4. Give users a clear goal5. Cross-over into the real world

Pointers

1. Be funny 2. Harness the power of mass-

participation3. Don’t expect to change the world4. Give users a clear goal5. Cross-over into the real world6. Respect the implicit contract

Why 41P could be brilliant

Why 4IP could be brilliant

"... advertisement that pretends to be art is, at absolute best, like somebody who smiles warmly at you only because he wants something from you. This is dishonest, but what's sinister is the cumulative effect that such dishonesty has on us: since it offers a perfect facsimile or simulacrum of goodwill without goodwill's real spirit, it messes with our heads and eventually starts upping our defences even in cases of genuine smiles and real art and true goodwill. It makes us feel confused and lonely and impotent and angry and scared.”

A Supposedly Fun Thing I Will Never Do AgainDavid Foster Wallace